* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Ikkoku Kanemitsu
一国兼光
Also known as: Tachi signed Bizen-no-kuni Osafune Kanemitsu, dated Bunwa 4
Description
Overview
Ikkoku Kanemitsu is a tachi made by Kanemitsu of Osafune in Bizen Province in the twelfth month of 1355 (Bunwa 4). Its tang bears the signature "Bizen-no-kuni Osafune Kanemitsu" together with the date, and it is popularly known as Ikkoku Kanemitsu. It was designated an Important Cultural Property on 14 December 1931 and is held by the Kochi Castle Museum of History.
Smith and Form
Kanemitsu is regarded as a representative smith of the Osafune school from the late Kamakura period through the Nanbokucho period. The blade has been shortened (suriage) and is now 75.5 cm long with a curvature of 2.1 cm.
Provenance and Name
It is said to have been received in 1636 by Yamauchi Tadayoshi, the second lord of Tosa Domain, from the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu as a keepsake. When urged to hand it over to the shogunate, Tadayoshi reportedly refused, saying it could not be exchanged even for the whole province of Tosa, which gave rise to the name Ikkoku ("one province") Kanemitsu.
Today
Handed down in the Yamauchi family, it is now in the collection of the Kochi Castle Museum of History.
Legends & Stories
A Kanemitsu whose name comes from the Tosa lord refusing to surrender it, saying it was worth more than the whole province.